Book Review: Hyperion by Dan Simmons
The most incredible science fiction book I’ve ever read.
Hyperion is one of those books that I feel like I’ve heard of my whole life, but never really known anything about. If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ve probably seen me say that before. It’s the same with Dan Simmons. If I heard his name, I’d instantly know he’s a famous author, but if you started prodding, you’d soon realize that I had no idea who he was or what he’d written.
I scrolled past Hyperion on my Audible account one day when I suddenly remembered I really wanted to read it. And there’s never a better time than right now, right?
Turn out I had no idea what Hyperion was about. I’m not quite sure what I thought it was, but it for sure definitely wasn’t this. Because this is so much better.
Hyperion follows the story of seven people on a pilgrimage to the planet of Hyperion, the home world of the time tombs. Why they’re all going there is unclear at the start of the book, but to pass the time, they all decide to sit down and share their stories, and so the most incredible stories begin.
First off is a tale of a priest and his ethnographic study of an isolated culture on the planet of Hyperion. The archaeologist in my really loved this part – the execution, the world building, the mystery – all of it was fantastic! I want to read it all again right away.
The second story is of a soldier who’s searching for a mysterious lover. I can’t really say much more than that without spoiling anything, but I was impressed with both the romance and the action scenes in this part. Loved the character building as well.
Thirdly, we have the story of a spoiled, vulgar poet, who against a lot of odds (if you ever read this book, you’ll see why I didn’t say all) manages to becomes super famous. He ends up hating most of that though. This one was particularly funny, even though it’s serious, sad and mysterious. Oh, and the writing is incredible. Dan Simmons is a genius.
The fourth story is perhaps the most heart-breaking. It touches on a trope that I’ve seen done many times after this was written (in 1989), but never executed even half as well! A fantastic read!
The fifth story is a crime mystery, sci-fi thriller all in it’s own right. A bit slow to start and to begin with appearing a bit duller than the previous four, this one really surprised me by the end.
Lastly, the sixth story is a tragic love story that I can’t say too much about without spoiling. Two people find each other in the vastness of space and try to be with each other even though they don’t have time for it. The ending really caught me.
You’ll notice there’s no seventh story, even though there are seven pilgrims, and you’ll have to read the book yourself to figure that part out. In essence, Hyperion is a collection of short stories, but there are also things happening between each tale, while the storytellers interact, and that part of the book is just a good. I was seriously impressed by Dan Simmons writing throughout this book, and I can honestly recommend this highly to any science fiction lover.
This is what Dune should have been! If you read my review of that, you’ll remember that I found Dune particularly boring and drawn out. Hyperion is not like that at all, and though I often say I’ll continue a series of books and end up never going past book 1, in this case I think I’ll have to make much more of an effort. I really want to read more of this. Like, really!
Have you read Hyperion or anything else by Dan Simmons? I’d love to hear about it, so let me know in the comments below!
Oh, and as always – if you like my blog and you’re into books, I’d love it if you checked out my thrillers and short stories!
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